


Is This a Date? (Communication Was Never Their Forte)

by Flame0515



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Awkwardness, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Pining, Shane Madej Loves Ryan Bergara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:09:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27241702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flame0515/pseuds/Flame0515
Summary: Sure, technically Ryan asked him out to dinner. But that does NOT mean this is a date. No, no, no- there's no way in hell! This is just dinner between two pals and he's gonna be left to pine after his straight best friend for the rest of his life because this is NOT a date.Or so Shane thought.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 17
Kudos: 93





	Is This a Date? (Communication Was Never Their Forte)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tumblr Anon](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tumblr+Anon).



> This was a request from an anon on Tumblr who said "I have a fic request??? Where Ryan or Shane thinks the other asked them out and then they go out and then one of them thinks it's a date and this goes on for a while until someone asks if they're together and one says "no" while the other says "yes" and then chaos. Maybe???????” and I really liked it so here we are!  
> Also I'm so sorry this took so long for me to write!! I had major writer's block and got super busy out of nowhere but I did it!  
> I hope you enjoy!

You know, Shane doesn’t get distracted often. He can usually brush things off his shoulder and move on. He can focus on the task hand. But oh man did all that go out the window the minute Ryan spoke to him. 

Shane had been working on some Puppet History stuff when Ryan tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to take his headphones off.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“You wanna grab dinner sometime?”

Shane froze. Huh? What had Ryan just asked? He needed clarification. “Uh, what?” He asked oh so eloquently.

“You know, dinner? Like after work?” If Ryan noticed Shane’s panic he ignored it. “How’s Friday sound?”

Not really sure what else to say Shane agreed. “Uh, yeah sure.”

Ryan visibly brightened. “Okay cool! I’ll text you.” Then he returned to his own work like everything was normal.

“Okay..?” He turned back to his laptop and began to question everything. What the fuck was that? Did Ryan just ask him...? No, that was far too casual for something that big. Plus Ryan was like the straightest dude he’d ever met. No need to get his hopes up like that. Also what the fuck were Shane’s responses? Say ‘uh’ one more time dumbass. So fucking smooth. He mentally cursed himself out. Was he supposed to get work done after that? He is far too distracted for that shit. Damn, he was really getting somewhere with this script too. Maybe if he just flips back and forth between tabs- that could work, right? 

So that’s what he did for the rest of the day. And most of the next day.. And the day after that. Basically he got nothing done for the rest of the week. Despite all of his attempts at shutting his brain the fuck up one question continued to nag at the back of his mind.

Was this a date?   
He decided that there was no way. No way in hell. That would never happen in a million years. He just had to keep telling himself that. 

You see much to Shane’s dismay he has a massive crush on his best friend. A crush that he’s been trying to ditch for literal years now but just can’t seem to kick. A crush that he wishes would just fuck off already for multiple reasons. One, nothing could ever happen between him and Ryan due to the fact that Ryan is A, straight and B, does not like Shane back. That much is a given. And two, it would literally ruin everything. At this point it’s just painful to have not gotten over it yet. He constantly feels like he’s walking a thin line between ‘this is fine’ and ‘aw fuck, I can’t believe you’ve done this’. He overthinks everything he does these days. Everything is going so well! He can’t be the one to fuck it all up.

So, Friday rolls around and the work day is over. They’re leaving the office together and Ryan’s been excitedly rambling about a project he’s working on. It’s cute. Shane hates that he finds it so cute. Once they’re outside Ryan brings up the very-clearly-not-a-date dinner plans once more. “We’re still on for dinner, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Where were you thinking of going?”

“Oh yeah!” Ryan beams. “There’s this cool Italian place I’ve been to a couple of times, I think you’d like it.”

“Yeah?”

Ryan nods enthusiastically. He glances up at Shane and stops dead in his tracks. “Are you okay man? I feel like you’ve been off all week.” 

Shit. Of course Ryan would catch on to him, Ryan  _ always  _ catches on to him. What can he say here?  _ ‘I’ve been losing my mind over the idea of going on a date with you because I am hopelessly in love with you and haven’t been able to focus on much else after you vaguely asked if I wanted to have dinner with you’  _ didn’t exactly seem like an acceptable response in this case. Instead he settles for, “I’m good, just have a lot on my mind.”

He frowns. “You know you can talk to me, right?” 

“Of course Ry.” Quick, change the subject. “So should I meet you at this place or..?”

Ryan eyes him suspiciously but let’s it go, thank  _ god _ . “I can pick you up at yours if that’s chill?”

_ Oh my god, like a date.  _ “Yeah no, that’s cool.” 

“Okay great! How’s six?”

Shane shrugs. “Works for me.” 

“Great! See you then.” And then they go separate ways.

Once home, Shane feels about five seconds away from a mental breakdown. “This is  _ not  _ a date.” He mumbles to himself as he runs a hand through his hair. “This is just.. two pals having dinner together! Nothing out of the ordinary.”

He has about an hour before Ryan comes to pick him up. What to do with that time?

_ Fuck it. _ He thinks and off he goes to dig through his closet for something halfway decent to wear.  _ Not  _ because this is a date and he wants to look nice for it. No, no, no- nothing like that. That being said, what the fuck do you wear to something like this?

He settles on something somewhat casual but something that also won’t make him look like a dipshit if it’s a nicer establishment. It only takes him like, forty-five minutes… whatever.

He feeds Obi and makes sure he’s about as ready as he could ever be by the time the clock hits six. Ryan texts him, saying that he’s outside. Ever the weirdo he is, he turns to Obi for moral support. “Wish me luck bud.” He says, scratching the little guy behind the ear before running out the door.

“Hey.” Ryan greets Shane with a smile when he gets in his car. Then he awkwardly clears his throat. “Uh, you look nice.”

Shane startles so much that he has to remind himself once more that this is  _ not  _ a date.

“Uh, um-” He clears his throat. “Th-Thanks.” Ryan just smiles at him and starts driving. The rest of the car ride is, thankfully, as casual as it usually is between them. They bicker and make dumb jokes and for a moment it feels normal. Which it is. So, so, so very normal.

Right?

Before he can finish that thought they arrive at their destination. The restaurant is right on the corner of the street. It’s made of brick and has a warm glow coming from inside. There’s a few people sitting at tables outside, chatting amongst themselves. He watches a waitress appear from inside with trays of food that smell ridiculously good. 

Yeah okay Ryan was right. They haven’t even stepped inside and he already loves the place.

“C’mon big guy. They get busy quick, we’ll wanna grab a table as soon as possible.” Ryan says as he gets out of the car, Shane following suit.

They get in right before a big group of people and the greeter gets them one of the last available tables. It’s tucked away into a quiet corner of the otherwise bustling restaurant. It’s nice. It’s really nice. But it’s  _ not  _ a date.

The waitress greets them and she’s really nice, smiling and polite. They order food and settle into a conversation that is not unlike most of their conversations- full of bickering, teasing, wheezes and dumb arguments about things that don’t really matter. It’s casual. It’s the same as it always is and it’s  _ still _ not date.

_ This isn’t a date  _ is Shane’s mantra for the majority of the night. Every time his mind wanders to thinking about how.. Well how fucking romantic this all is he reminds himself that this is not a date. When Ryan compliments him or says something cheesy that makes his ears go red he reminds himself  _ again  _ that this is not a date. When some dickish patrons at another table glare at them and whisper to each other Shane pretends that he doesn’t understand why. What could two bros, two buds, two pals, sitting across from each other at a small table in this overly nice restaurant be doing that’s offensive to them? Because, all together now, this is  _ not  _ a date.

Eventually, it’s time to pay and they argue over who’s paying for an excruciating amount of time but Shane caves despite himself and Ryan triumphantly places his card in the little black check holder the waitress left at their table maybe ten minutes ago at this point. She returns and takes it away and comes back a few minutes later to return Ryan’s card which is now accompanied by a receipt.

“Thanks for coming! I just wanted to say I think you guys make a really cute couple! I hope to see you here for your next date!” She says cheerfully.

“Oh we’re not-”

“He’s just-”

“This isn’t-”

“I’m not-” 

The pair scramble desperately to find the words to correct her. They stutter and cut each other off for a moment before Shane can finally get a bearing on things. “This isn’t a date.” He says awkwardly. Before the waitress can say anything Ryan speaks.

“It’s not?”

Shane’s attention shoots towards him. “No?”

“Oh.” Ryan says dejectedly before turning back towards the waitress. “It’s not a date.” He agrees.

“Wait, was it?” Shane asks because what the fuck? Because he’d spent the whole evening convincing himself it wasn’t a date, this was sort of jaring.

Ryan rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. “I mean, yeah? That’s kind of what I was going for?”

“Oh my god, are you serious?” Shane asks in disbelief.

“No?” 

“That is not a straight answer- wait I feel so fucking dumb, was this actually a date?” 

Ryan hesitates and the waitress uses his pause to apologize. Shane practically forgot she was there. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to cause anything! You guys just seemed so- you know, coupley? If that makes sense? It definitely doesn’t, I should shut up. Um, I’m sorry! Have a nice night!” She rambles before swiftly taking her leave and heading towards the kitchen. 

“Shit.” Ryan mumbles. “I feel bad, she was so nice.” Shane just nods in agreement. They sit there in awkward silence for a moment as Shane contemplates everything. This was truly a date all along? “Uh, are you upset that this was technically a date?” Ryan asks quietly.

“What? Oh. No? I uh, I actually had myself pretty convinced it wasn’t cause like.. No need to get my hopes up, right?” 

“Wait, what?”

“Oh fuck, I mean.. Uh..” He tries to come up with something but comes up empty. He’s legitimately at a loss for words. 

“What do you mean you didn’t want to get your hopes up?”

Shane makes a series of noises in an attempt to form a coherent thought. “I don’t- I uh, I like you? Like, a lot. And for a while. I don’t know Ryan, what do you want to hear?”

Ryan takes a deep breath. “Okay. So, this was a date? Let’s establish that much.” 

Shane nods in agreement. “Yeah.. yeah this was a date.”

“Okay.. I uh- was it a good date?” He asks nervously. 

Despite the awkwardness of the situation he smiles. “Yeah.”

Ryan breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god. So I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Ryan replies breathlessly. “Would you, possibly, maybe, liketogoonanotherdatesometime?” He rushes the last part of his sentence so much that it barely sounds like words but Shane’s known him long enough to decipher it in a heartbeat.

“I mean, yeah, totally.”

Ryan seems genuinely surprised at that. Almost as if he had been bracing for a worse response. “Oh. Oh! Oh, okay cool! Yeah that’s super cool.”

“Yeah.. yeah it is.” Shane trailed off. “Sorry, I’m just having a hard time trying to comprehend this.” He says, shaking his head.

“It’s chill man, I kinda don’t believe that, well that any of this is happening right now.”

“Yes!” He all but shouts. “I’ve spent the entire week trying in vain to convince myself that this wasn’t a date because in what universe would Ryan-fucking-Bergara like me like that? I’m just- it’s a lot dude.”

“Shane, oh my god, do you know how long it took me to ask you out? I’ve been overthinking everything and freaking out and it’s just been-” Ryan gestures wildly as if that explains everything. “You know?” 

Surprisingly he does. 

“Wow.” He mutters and Ryan only nods in response. A moment passes. “So this has been an eventful night. I think we terrified that waitress.” 

Ryan puts his head in his hands. “We definitely did. I’m gonna give her my entire wallet as an apology.”

“Probably not the best financial decision you could make but I agree with the sentiment.”

“Shut up Shane.”

They end up splitting the tip which basically means they give her almost all of the cash they have on them just because they feel bad. She was just being nice! Wait- did she say they seemed coupley? Oh boy Shane had not quite thought about those ramifications. Fuck.

With that out of the way they leave the restaurant. It’s still relatively busy which isn’t all that surprising considering it’s a Friday and apparently people are dying to get in.

“So.. do you want me to take you home?” Ryan hesitantly asks once they’re back in the car.

“Not really.” He shrugs.

“Where to then?” 

“I dunno.. What if we just drove around?

Ryan beams at him. “Sure thing big guy. You man the music- and you better pick good stuff or you can walk home.” He threatens, pointing a finger at Shane. 

He puts his hands up in defense. “Fine, Fine- no Hotdaga or Puppet History.”

Ryan smirks and then they pull out of the parking lot. Shane pulls up the first song (one that he knows Ryan loves and by default he does too) and they’re singing along in no time.

It’s something they’ve done on more than one occasion. Long car rides were one of the foundations of their friendship if he’s being honest and that goes hand in hand with singing terribly alongside the music that’s playing. Hell of a bonding experience if you ask him. Well so is hunting ghosts but whatever. 

Almost an hour goes by of them doing just that- driving and singing. Shane sneaks glances at Ryan when he’s not looking. When Ryan’s too focused on the song or headbanging too hard he looks and he smiles. He’s so fucking cute. At one point Ryan catches him staring but based on the fact that Ryan immediately looks away, clearly embarrassed, tells Shane that he was trying to look too. Oh shit. 

Then it’s like the night finally catches up to him.

This had been a date. They were on date. Ryan Bergara asked him out on a  _ date  _ holy shit! Wait what the fuck? His feelings hadn’t been one sided? With the pit of denial he’s been in and all the convincing himself he’s done it’s almost impossible to believe.

Ryan likes him.

Damn.

Just then Ryan glances at him. “You good big guy? You stopped singing.”

Shane startles back to reality. “Yeah I’m good just.. Thinking.”

“About?” 

‘ _ You _ ’ he wants to say but he doesn’t. Wait. Why doesn’t he? What’s stopping him now? So, before he can think to second guess himself and all the ways that this is probably a terrible idea he says what’s on his mind. “You.”

Ryan freezes and goes red. “Shit, was that too much? I shouldn’t have said that- that was so dumb-”

Instead of having any of the reactions Shane expected Ryan laughs. “No, no, you’re good it just caught me off guard is all.” The grin on Ryan’s face is enough to stop Shane from thinking otherwise. 

“Oh. Okay cool.”

The music playing is a quieter song now. It’s gentler. There’s a lull in their conversation before either of them speak again. 

“You know, this reminds me of back home.” 

Ryan tilts his head. “Really? Why?” 

“There’s not much to do. Especially when you’re a teenager and have no money so the best form of entertainment was always driving around. It’s nice. I don’t do it as much anymore but It’s still great.” 

“It is.” Ryan agrees. Then he glances at his car’s clock. “Shit.” He mutters. “It’s getting kinda late and correct me if I’m wrong but we have a shoot tomorrow.” 

“Oh fuck.” Shane mutters. Thaaat’s right. They have an all day shoot further away for Unsolved tomorrow that he almost completely forgot about. “Look at us, working on the weekend.” 

“For a company we don’t even work for anymore.” Ryan says bitterly.

“You still like Unsolved though, right?”

“Of course I do. Doesn’t mean I have to like the company though.”

Shane nods. “That’s fair.” He sighs. “Alright, let’s head back.” 

“Keep the music going though!” Ryan reminds him and he laughs and does so. With that they scream their way back to Shane’s apartment in a little under an hour which is better than he was expecting considering how far away they had gotten. Ryan pulls into an empty parking spot outside Shane’s apartment complex and looks at him. “Thanks for letting me take you out on a..” 

Ryan hesitates and Shane, more sure than he’d been this entire time finishes the thought. “A date.”

“A date.” Ryan repeats with a smile. 

They’re looking at each other and they’ve both gone quiet. Ryan looks fucking beautiful, even in the yellow light of nearby lamposts and Shane can only imagine what the dopey smile on his face looks like. Ryan’s smiling softly and he leans in then the gravity of the situation hits him.

_ Oh fuck Ryan’s gonna kiss him _

After barely recovering from his minor ‘gay panic’ as the kids say, he manages to pull his shit together and get the hint. Suddenly Ryan’s hands are in his hair and Ryan’s lips are on his lips and it’s warm and it’s sweet and it’s everything Shane’s ever wanted. He’s giddy, his stomach is doing flips and it feels new and old and familiar all at the same time. This is Ryan. Ryan is kissing him and he’s never felt happier. 

They pull away and Shane knows he’s grinning like an idiot but Ryan looks just as gone. “You have no clue how badly I’ve wanted to do that.” Ryan says, a little out of breath.

“I think I might have an idea.” He says with a smile. He’s quiet for a couple seconds, reeling, before he begrudgingly decides he should probably head inside. He sighs dramatically. “I guess I should head inside.”

“So soon?” Ryan says jokingly. 

“I’ll see tomorrow.” Shane says matter of factly. “And then I’ll kiss you again.” He adds, much quieter.    
Ryan practically giggles and it throws him off for a second. How is that motherfucker so adorable? “I’m holding you to that big guy.”

“I hope so.” He says with a smirk. “I’ll see you tomorrow Ry.”

“See you tomorrow.” Ryan says and they’re both still grinning like idiots by the time Shane actually gets out of the car. 

Once inside, still half losing his mind, Shane all but collapses on his bed like some over dramatic teenager in a coming of age movie but he can’t help it. Tonight was fucking great.

It was  _ actually  _ a date.

He texts Ryan before he totally passes out because if he’s being honest tonight took a hell of a lot out of him. 

_ I had a lot of fun Ry guy.  _

_ I’ll see you tomorrow  _

Then, as an afterthought and mostly because his head is foggy with sleep and love for Ryan Bergara,

_ Also you’re a good kisser _

As he falls asleep he finally accepts that it really was a date. A wonderful, awkward, strange, but very  _ them  _ date and he has no complaints. It was perfect.

It was a date.

**Author's Note:**

> YALL  
> Okay I'm so so sorry I dipped for like, an entire week. I'm currently in a play and that really started to pick up all of sudden so that's happening next week (please wish us luck, it's a mess lmao)  
> Anyway I need your help for a multitude of reasons!  
> 1) Can yall drop your favorite Tinsworth fics? I have a prompt for them and have an utter lack of experience when it comes to writing for them. I also have read maybe one tinsworth fic ever? So like- help, you know?  
> 2) I have this quote saved in my prompts google doc and have for a while, It's "Pylades: I’ll take care of you. Orestes: It’s rotten work.  
> Pylades: Not to me. Not if it’s you.” ― Anne Carson, Euripides and I want to do something based around that really badly but have come up with exactly nothing! So if you have any ideas they are MUCH appreciated.
> 
> Also this is totally unrelated but I want to share it anyway- in my previously mentioned prompts google doc there's a note that just says "Ryan and Shane pressing their faces together sleepily, not even kissing, just resting their foreheads together, noses brushing, breathing each other in." Followed by a note in bold that says "Hey past me- when the fuck did you write this? What were you on????" and I have ZERO memory of writing either of the notes and I find that amusing. 
> 
> Okay, I'll shut up now! I just missed rambling in the notes of my stuff lol  
> I take requests at Flame0515 on Tumblr! You can also drop them in the comments here if you want to!  
> Thank you so much for reading !!!!!


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